New emergency preparedness information available for dental offices

May 03, 2010

Best practices for managing medical emergencies in dental clinics have evolved over the past decade to account for advances in knowledge and the development of new medications and medical equipment. Morton Rosenberg, DMD, of Tufts University School of Dental Medicine and an expert on dental anesthesiology, integrated existing guidelines with new information to create an updated list of emergency medications and equipment for dental providers, including an emergency preparedness checklist.

"Every dentist will likely manage a medical emergency during the course of their practice. Planning for such an emergency involves preparing and educating clinical staff, ensuring that medical equipment is accessible and functional, and stocking emergency medications," said Rosenberg, professor in the department of oral and maxillofacial surgery and head of the division of anesthesia and pain control at Tufts University School of Dental Medicine.

Rosenberg provides an updated emergency preparedness checklist to prepare dental providers for medical emergencies that may occur in the clinical setting, as well as a detailed list of emergency medications and equipment. Medical emergencies that may occur in a clinical setting include allergic reaction to medications, hyperventilation, or heart attack.

Rosenberg advises that specific medications be stocked and regularly checked to ensure they have not exceeded their expiration dates, including oxygen, epinephrine, nitroglycerin, glucose and reversal drugs. He proposes a list of emergency medical equipment to be readily available and accessible, including an automated external defibrillator (AED) and a portable oxygen delivery system. In the paper, Rosenberg details the appropriate actions and administration of medication and uses of equipment based on the medical emergency.

"Emergency preparedness includes adequate training so that dentists and staff respond reflexively to an emergency situation and facilitate better diagnosis and care of the patient," said Rosenberg.

The paper is published in a supplement on medical emergencies in the May 2010 issue of the Journal of the American Dental Association.

Rosenberg is a professor of oral and maxillofacial surgery and head of the division of anesthesia and pain control at Tufts University School of Dental Medicine. He is also an associate professor in the department of anesthesiology at Tufts University School of Medicine. Rosenberg is the co-author of a textbook, entitled Medical Emergencies in Dentistry.

More information: Rosenberg M. The Journal of the American Dental Association. 2010. (May 1); 141 (5): 14S-19S. "Preparing for medical emergencies: the essential drugs and equipment for the dental office."

Related Stories

New research from the University of Bristol shows that admissions for the surgical treatment of dental abscess have doubled in the last ten years despite the fact that these serious infections are preventable with regular ...

People who live with diabetes on a daily basis are usually instructed to eat right, maintain regular physical activity, and if necessary, take medication. What many may not know is that these medications that help control ...

Do you regularly take aspirin or antiplatelet medications? Do you know whether or not these drugs should be stopped before dental procedures or surgeries? According to a study published in the May/June issue of General De ...

According to a recent IOM report, only 6 percent of U.S. hospital emergency departments are fully equipped to properly care for children. With high rates of novel H1N1 (swine) flu expected this winter, the time to address ...

Online social networks could help with communications and recovery for people with disabilities following major natural disasters, or even terrorist attack, according to a research paper in the International Journal of Em ...

Recommended for you

Since implementation of a medical need-based allocation system of donor lungs in 2005, double-lung transplantation has been associated with better graft survival than single-lung transplantation in patients with idiopathic ...

Uganda's government on Tuesday hit back at mounting criticism of plans to 'export' over 200 health workers to the Caribbean, insisting it was only seeking to regulate an existing labour market and prevent abuses.

Seth Mnookin, an assistant professor of science writing and associate director of MIT's Graduate Program in Science Writing, is the author of "The Panic Virus: The True Story Behind the Vaccine-Autism Controversy" ...